NFL Black Monday: Colts part ways with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley
The Indianapolis Colts are retaining head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard for the 2025 season, but the same cannot be said for defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. On Monday night, the team announced that they had parted ways with their defensive leader.
"I'm appreciative of Gus and the commitment he made to the Colts," Steichen said in a statement. "He is a man of great character, and I have the utmost respect for him. I felt like we needed to move in a different direction. I wish Gus and his family all the best moving forward."
The 8-9 Colts missed the playoffs for the fourth season in a row. The Colts' defense struggled all year, and finished the regular season ranked fourth-worst in yards allowed per game (361.2), and ninth-worst in scoring defense (25.1 points allowed per game).
Bradley spent three seasons with the Colts, joining Indy after a one-year stint with the Las Vegas Raiders as their defensive coordinator in 2021.
This is a developing story.
Colts part ways with Gus Bradley, making change at defensive coordinator
Recent reports and rumors from NFL insiders suggested it, but the Indianapolis Colts have parted ways with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley after three seasons with the team.
Head coach Shane Steichen had this to say:
"I'm appreciative of Gus and the commitment he made to the Colts. He is a man of great character, and I have the utmost respect for him. I felt like we needed to move in a different direction. I wish Gus and his family all the best moving forward."
This is a move that doesn't come as much of a surprise.
The tipping point for Bradley was likely the Colts Week 17 performance against the New York Giants. In a must-win game while facing a New York offense that was averaging just 14 points per game, the Colts defense surrendered a hefty 38 points in that game, what Bradley called an "embarrassing" performance.
For the most part, the issues that plagued the Colts in that game--big plays and missed tackles--were problems that the team couldn't' overcome all season.
Of course, some of the responsibility for that play falls on the players on the field, but as the leader, game-planner, and play-caller for that unit, the results ultimately fall on Bradley's shoulders.
There were some positives this season defensively, the Colts were quite good at generating turnovers and their best performance of the season came in an important game against Denver.
However, overall, the Colts ranked 24th in scoring defense, 28th in yards per pass attempt allowed and 26th in rushing yards per game this season.
It's also not as if 2024 was the only down year under Bradley. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Colts finished those seasons ranked 28th in scoring defense.
With it looking like Shane Steichen will remain the head coach, it will be up to him to now hire a new defensive coordinator. This will be Steichen's first endeavor into hiring this position as he inherited Bradley when joining the Colts last season.
(This article was updated to provide additional information.)
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts part ways with Gus Bradley, making change at defensive coordinator
Colts coach Shane Steichen: No decision on defensive coordinator Gus Bradley
INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts coach Shane Steichen said no decision has been made about retaining defensive coordinator Gus Bradley on Monday during his press conference.
"There's no decision," he said, noting that it will be part of the evaluation process.
The Colts set an Indianapolis-era record by posting 51 sacks during the 2023 season, but the pass-rush numbers failed to save a defense that gave up 24.4 points per game, 28th in the NFL.
Faced with a need to improve, Bradley made one move, letting former defensive line coach Nate Ollie go to hire long-time college coach Charlie Partridge, but the Colts hit new lows, allowing more than 200 rushing yards in each of the first two games on its way to a 26th-ranked rush defense, failing to tackle and falling off in the pass rush with an attack that recorded just 35 sacks after the record season of 2023, then finished off the season by laying an egg against the New York Giants, the NFL’s worst offense.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Gus Bradley: Colts Shane Steichen said no decision on defensive coordinator
Colts retain Gus Bradley as defensive coordinator after hiring Shane Steichen as head coach, per report
The Indianapolis Colts went with the best option for their defensive coordinator -- the one they already had. Indianapolis will retain Gus Bradley as defensive coordinator for new head coach Shane Steichen, deciding not to open the position despite Bradley being hired under the previous regime, according to ESPN.
Indianapolis made sure Bradley couldn't go far this offseason as it blocked him from interviewing for other defensive coordinator vacancies -- a lateral move given Bradley is under contract with the organization. The Colts wanted to keep Bradley on staff during their search for a new head coach.
Steichen completed most of the coaching changes on the offensive side of the ball, bringing in Jim Bob Cooter as offensive coordinator as the most significant hire. The Colts are still finalizing their coaching staff since Steichen accepted the job two weeks ago.
Bradley's defense finished 15th in yards per game allowed (334.0) last season, but 28th in points allowed per game (25.1). That number went up to 30.5 points per game allowed in the eight games Jeff Saturday took over as interim head coach. The Colts still finished 11th in passing yards allowed per game (209.9) and allowed just 4.1 yards per carry (fifth in NFL).
Bradley has been the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks (2009-2012), Los Angeles Chargers (2017-2020) and Las Vegas Raiders (2021). He had a top-10 defense in points allowed in four seasons as a DC, and a top-10 defense in yards allowed in six seasons, most recently in 2020.
He was also the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2013-2016, compiling a 14-48 record.
The Colts' decision to retain Bradley and have him run their defense makes the most sense as Steichen works to find a franchise quarterback and fix their offense. Bradley can run the defense as the primary play-caller, while Indianapolis can retain key free agents on defense -- notably Bobby Okereke.
Gus Bradley to meet with Jaguars
Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley is traveling Wednesday from Philadelphia to Jacksonville to interview for the Jaguars' coaching job, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
